Our amazing Preventing Plastic Pollution Project has come to an end and what better day to look back on its success than World Oceans Day.
The three-year EU funded project saw the collaboration of 18 partners across both sides of the channel with the overall aims to identify and target hotspots for plastic pollution, encourage behaviour change in local communities and businesses and implement effective solutions and alternatives to plastic use.
The information gathered from research in these areas allowed the cross-Channel partnerships to tackle some of the four million tonnes of plastic waste that enter the sea via rivers every year.
Here in Plymouth we’ve achieved so much to help keep our city, and crucially our seas, free of plastic pollution.
Here is a summary of all that we’ve done.
- Cleared and sampled (to inform GIS mapping of pollution hotspots), 15km of waterfront and 20 tonnes of plastic removed from the marine environment
- Hosted 76 community beach cleans, engaging 475 volunteers, collecting over 500kg of litter
- Trialling and evaluation of two passive marine litter collectors – the sea bin and waste sharks
- Removed 2,000km of angling line, 55 bicycles, 22 scooters, 3 pushchairs, 8 shopping trollies, 60 car/truck tyres and 80 bicycle tyres – all items cleaned and recycled
- Engaged 163 organisations in Plymouth pledged to reduce single use plastics
- Engaged with 1,000 sailors in Plymouth to reduce their use of avoidable plastics
- Created a Plastic Free Event Protocol to be used by the key events in Plymouth
- Produced two waste sculptures to raise awareness of plastic pollution
- Installed 200 yellow fish signs in Ernesettle as ‘only rain down the drain campaign’
- Founded a cross-Channel schools network to encourage joint actions to reduce plastic on both sides of the Channel
- Introduced six angling bins, collecting 3.308kg of angling line over 12 months.
Councillor Tom Briars-Delve, Cabinet member for the Environment and Climate Change, said: “The Preventing Plastic Pollution Project has made such a difference in Plymouth and while it’s sad that it has come to a close, we should be immensely proud of all it has achieved.
“Plastic makes up 85 per cent of all marine litter, endangering marine life from plankton and shellfish to birds and mammals.
“I’d like to say a big thank you to the officers whose passion and enthusiasm has delivered this project so effectively and also to our wonderful partners who have supported us in our aim of reducing plastic pollution across Plymouth.”
The Preventing Plastic Pollution Project would not have been possible without the support and involvement from our local partners.
Environment Plymouth, Ocean Conservation Trust, Plymouth’s Plastic Task Force, Odyssey Innovation, PB Media, 1,000 Tyres and SHIPs project, National Marine Park, Commercial Diving and Maritime LTD, and all the wonderful volunteers and people we engaged with along the way should all be very proud of their input.
While the project has now finished, the work accomplished will continue to inform residents and the work of National Marine Park so that plastic pollution in our waters is reduced for years to come,
The Prevent Plastic Pollution website will also live on, packed with useful resource and information for reducing plastic use and pollution, will remain available for residents to use.
Log on to https://preventingplasticpollution.com today.